Kunze-IT » with a black bow tie, the one and done Kansas star couldnt hid

Colorado gets an epic goaltending performance, Backes drops four on Arizona, another strong game from Mason, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Semyon Varlamov – Recorded a 54-save shutout in Colorado’s 2-0 win at Chicago, the most saves in a road shutout since 1987-88. In his past six starts, Varlamov has a .942 save percentage, a step forward after a relatively slow start to the season, which included a .909 save percentage through his first 15 games. David Backes – The Blues centre scored four goals in a 6-0 rout over Arizona. He now has eight points (5 G, 3 A) in the past six games and comes following my post that included data about how Backes was generating a lower percentage of scoring chances. Steve Mason – Philadelphia’s netminder stopped 41 of 42 shots in a 2-1 shootout win against Ottawa, giving him a .927 save percentage over his past 10 games and he currently has a career-high .919 save percentage. ZEROES Goalies: Anders Lindback – Allowed four goals on 20 shots in a 4-2 loss to Columbus, not unusual for the Stars backup, sporting an .856 save percentage this season. Mike Smith – Arizona’s former starter isn’t going to reclaim the crease from Devan Dubnyk after surrendering six goals on 39 shots in a 6-0 loss to St. Louis; he has a career-low .882 save percentage after 25 games this season. Michael Bournival – The Habs winger only played 6:24 at even-strength against Tampa Bay, but was on for zero shot attempts for and nine shot attempts against, despite starting half of his shifts in the offensive zone. Nail Yakupov – In 11:39 of even-strength ice time against Detroit, the Oilers winger was on the ice for eight shot attempts for and 27 against (22.9%). He has one goal in the past 25 games and seven shots on goal in the past five games. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Claude Giroux – Returned to the Flyers’ lineup, after missing a game with a lacerated leg, and had an assist and 12 shot attempts (8 SOG) in a 2-1 shootout win over Ottawa. Martin Hanzal – Arizona’s 6-foot-6 centre missed Tuesday’s game against St. Louis with an upper-body injury. Adam Larsson – The Devils defenceman played 23:35 against Buffalo, the third straight game in which he played more than 23 minutes. Prior to this three-game ice-time surge, Larsson had played more than 23 minutes in a game once in 84 games since the start of the 2012-2013 season. Nick Schultz – Played a season-high 23:46 in Philadelphia’s 2-1 shootout win against Ottawa. Zach Parise – The Wild winger missed Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to San Jose, spending time with his father, J.P. Parise, who is gravely ill. Jeremy Morin – Played just 5:20 for the Blue Jackets at Dallas, the first time that he’s played under 10 minutes in a game since joining Columbus. Tomas Jurco – Detroit’s winger, a high-end possession player, left Tuesday’s win at Edmonton early with a back injury. Michael Grabner – Returned to the Islanders’ lineup, with Josh Bailey going out due to an upper-body injury. Radim Vrbata – Missed Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Islanders due to the flu, allowing Alex Burrows to skate with the Sedins on Vancouver’s top line. Mark Letestu – Returned to the Columbus lineup for his first game since October 28, and scored a goal in 9:38 of ice time at Dallas, skating with Jeremy Morin and Jared Boll. Freddie Hamilton – The 23-year-old winger played his first game of the season for the Sharks, playing 8:27 at Minnesota. He had 21 points (6 G, 15 A) and was minus-13 in 32 AHL games when he was called up. SHORT SHIFTS Yet another note on Tampa Bay’s line of centre Tyler Johnson, who scored two goals, and wingers Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, who each had two assists in a 4-2 win at Montreal. Undrafted Johnson now has 45 points (17 G, 28 A) on the season, behind only Jakub Voracek and Tyler Seguin…Canadiens D Sergei Gonchar assisted on both Montreal goals, giving him five assists in the past six games…Devils LW Patrik Elias recorded a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win over Buffalo, has five points (3 G, 2 A) in his past five games and reached 1,000 points for his career, ranking sixth among active skaters…Devils C Travis Zajac added a goal and an assist, giving him five points (2 G, 3 A) in the past five games…Hurricanes C Eric Staal had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss at Nashville, giving him six points (4 G, 2 A) in the past six games…Sharks D Brent Burns had two assists in a 4-3 overtime win at Minnesota, and has 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in the past 15 games…Sharks RW Joe Pavelski picked up a goal and an assist at Minnesota, giving him 17 points (11 G, 6 A) in the past 15 games…Wild RW Jason Pominville had a pair of assists in the 4-3 overtime loss to San Jose; he has 12 points (2 G, 10 A) in the past 11 games. Wild LW Jason Zucker – one of the league’s most efficient goal-scorers – recorded two goals and an assist, with eight shots on goal and team-leading possession stats (21 shot attempts for, 11 against, 65.6%) in the loss…Blue Jackets winger Nick Foligno had three assists in a 4-2 win at Dallas, giving him 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in the past 12 games…Blue Jackets LW Scott Hartnell had a pair of assists, giving him nine points (3 G, 6 A) in the past nine games…Blue Jackets C Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist, and now has nine points (4 G, 5 A) during an eight-game point streak…Blues RW T.J. Oshie had three assists in a 6-0 win vs. Arizona, and has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) during a six-game point streak…Blues C Paul Stastny notched a goal and an assist against Arizona, giving him eight points (1 G, 7 A) in the past six games…Blues LW Alexander Steen added a pair of assists and has nine points (2 G, 7 A) during a four-game point streak…Red Wings LW Justin Abdelkader had a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win at Edmonton, giving him six points (3 G, 3 A) in the past six games…Islanders C John Tavares was held without a shot attempt in a 3-2 loss at Vancouver; credit to the Sedins, who won the territorial head-to-head matchup…Avalanche RW Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win at Chicago; it’s been a rough stretch for MacKinnon, with six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past 16 games. Lightning D Mark Barberio had excellent possession stats (20 shot attempts for, 5 against) in Tampa Bay’s 4-2 win over Montreal…Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews kept play in the Colorado end (29 shot attempts for, 7 against, 80.6%) in a 2-0 loss. Blues G Brian Elliott had a 23-save shutout in a 6-0 win against Arizona…Senators G Craig Anderson stopped 33 of 34 shots in a 2-1 shootout loss at Philadelphia. FANTASY FOCUS Four games on tap tonight. Here are four players to consider for your lineup: Daniel Winnik – Here’s a limited recommendation for a winger with one goal in 38 games, but the defensively-responsible Winnik is also skating with Nazem Kadri and Phil Kessel on Toronto’s top line. Steve Downie – The Penguins winger leads the league with 141 penalty minutes and has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) in the past eight games. Playing on Sidney Crosby’s wing certainly helps. Joe Colborne – Played a season-high 21:42 last game for Calgary and has three goals in the past four games. Rene Bourque – When he’s not a healthy scratch, the Ducks have been force-feeding Bourque an opportunity on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry and he does have a couple of points (1 G, 1 A) in his past three games. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden. Cheap Senators Jerseys China . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side. http://www.cheapsenatorsjerseys.com/ . The Toronto Blue Jays star won his second consecutive Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL on Monday after votes by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers were tallied. Cheap Senators Jerseys . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins (5) – He was locked in all night, made huge stops on Benoit Pouliot, Raphael Diaz, Ryan Mcdonagh, Carl Hagelin, Rick Nash (twice) but none better than the three saves on Mats Zuccarello. Wholesale Senators Jerseys . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014.TORONTO - As anticipated, Thursday nights NBA Draft turned out to be a historic evening for Canadian basketball, however the Raptors, the countrys lone team, became reluctant spectators despite their best efforts to get in on the festivities. In many ways it was a celebration of how far the country has come and how much the sport has grown within it. In total, four Canadian players were selected - setting a league record - including three in the top 18, all from the Greater Toronto Area. For the second consecutive year Canada produced the top pick, 19-year-old phenom and Vaughan-native Andrew Wiggins, who will join last years No. 1 selection Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dwight Powell - picked in the second-round of Thursdays draft - in Cleveland. Mississaugas Nik Stauskas followed suit, going to the Sacramento Kings at pick No. 8 before the Phoenix Suns - owners of the 18th pick - nabbed Brampton point guard Tyler Ennis, a player that sat atop the Raptors board when he heard his name called. It was a bittersweet moment for the 19-year-old Ennis, who was finally realizing his lifelong dream, albeit two picks away from beginning his career with his hometown team. The Raptors, drafting 20th, struck out on their top target but it wasnt for a lack of effort or interest. "We tried everything," Dwane Casey admitted shortly after the first-round concluded. "It just didnt work out." Masai Ujiri and his staff tracked Ennis throughout his freshman year at Syracuse and quickly became enamoured with his poise at the point guard position. Until recently they believed there was little chance he would fall to them, or even come close. With his stock fluctuating leading up to the draft, Ujiri hoped Ennis would be available to them, also exploring several scenarios to trade up and even entice the Suns to give him up after the selection had been made. With Ennis off the board, Ujiri opted for the next player on his wish list, Brazilian mystery man Bruno Caboclo "We decided we lost one," said the Raptors general manager, "were not going to lose the other one. So we jumped on it." The Raptors came that close to drafting what would have been the first Canadian selected in their 20-year franchise history, but given the rate in which the country is producing high-level talent its only a matter of time until that vision - which once seemed like a pipe dream - becomes a reality. "Ennis was a target for us but he was picked by another team," Ujiri lamented. "We will have Canadians on our team. Definitely we will have Canadian players on our team. Theyre all over the league now. The last two first picks have been Canadian." "We tried and it didnt work out this time," he conntinued, "but were glad theres a lot a lot of them in the league and eventually well get a couple of Canadians here, trust me.dddddddddddd Itll come, well get them here." Thursday served as a friendly reminder, Canada isnt going anywhere. After hemming and hawing for weeks, the Cavaliers finally decided on Wiggins with their No. 1 overall pick. Decked out in a captivating black suit decorated with white floral print and topped off with a black bow tie, the one and done Kansas star couldnt hide his joy when first-year commissioner Adam Silver called his name. "A thousand thoughts are going through my head right now," Wiggins said minutes later. "Its a dream come true. Ive been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid. My dream was just to make the NBA and now going to high school and college the opportunity of going number one came into talk and now I accomplished that. So its a crazy feeling right now. I dont even know how I feel. It doesnt feel real right now." "I always believed it," Stauskas added. "I believed in myself and I dont think many other people did but this is something Ive always felt is a possibility for me and I just kept working my hardest to make it happen. Its a cliche but dreams really do come true when you put all your effort into it." What could this night mean for the country? "I just think its huge," Wiggins said. "It opens doors for all the youth and everyone in Canada. It gives them hope. Because coming up when I was Canada, I wasnt ranked or nothing, I wasnt known. I didnt have no offers or anything like that. But I just kept my head straight and kept working on my game and look where I am today. So I just think it gives everyone hope that they can do the same thing and accomplish whatever I do because its possible if they work hard." The Raptors, like most of the 29 other teams, did pass up on four other eligible Canadians that went undrafted Thursday. Montreals Khem Birch, Calgarys Jordan Bachynski, Toronto-native and reigning Big 12 player of the year Melvin Ejim and the 7-foot-5 Sim Bhullar, also from the Toronto area, didnt hear their name called. Instead, Toronto opted for UConn forward DeAndre Daniels with an early second-round pick and traded the 59th overall pick to the Brooklyn Nets. Ujiri has maintained that if and when the Raptors do add a Canadian he wont be employed for his passport and he wont be sitting at the end of the bench. The pressure surrounding that type of player in that situation would be unfair, hes said. All four of the undrafted Canadian players are expected to catch on with Summer League teams, hoping to earn a spot on an NBA roster before weighing their options overseas or in the D-League. 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